U.S. consumers were less confident about the economy in April.
The Conference Board's Consumer Confidence Index hit 95.2 in April, missing estimates. Economists polled by Reuters expected a reading of 102.5. March's reading was revised up to 101.4 from 101.3.
The reading marks the lowest level since December.
Consumers' outlook for the current-day conditions continued to soften, especially for business conditions and the jobs outlook. Consumer expecting business conditions to improve over the next six months dropped from 16.8 percent to 16 percent. And the percent of those expecting more jobs in the coming months decreased from 15.3 percent to 13.8 percent.
"Consumer confidence, which had rebounded in March, gave back all of the gain and more in April," said Lynn Franco, director of economic indicators at the group.
"This month's retreat was prompted by a softening in current conditions, likely sparked by the recent lackluster performance of the labor market, and apprehension about the short-term outlook. The Present Situation Index declined for the third consecutive month. Coupled with waning expectations, there is little to suggest that economic momentum will pick up in the months ahead."
The monthly consumer confidence survey is conducted by Nielsen for The Conference Board.
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U.S.stocks closed mixed on Tuesday as investors eyed tech earnings and awaited the Federal Reserve's statement on Wednesday.
Twitter had its second-worst day, with shares closing down 18.18 percent. In the last 15 minutes before the close, shares resumed trading about 20 percent lower. The company was scheduled to report after the bell but released its earnings early, after shares were halted following a 5.5 percent plunge on online reports that earnings may have leaked.
The social media company reported a beat on earnings but a miss on revenue, as well as lower 2015 full-year expectations. Guidance on second-quarter revenue was about $100 million lower than estimates. |
